Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League champion for the 1972 season. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins by the score of 14–7, winning their first Super Bowl, and became the first and still the only team in modern NFL history to complete a perfect undefeated season. They also remain the only Super Bowl champion to win despite having been shut out in the second half of the game. This was the first professional sports championship ever won by a Florida-based team. The game was played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. At kickoff, the temperature was, making the game the warmest Super Bowl.
This was the Dolphins' second Super Bowl appearance; they had lost Super Bowl VI to Dallas the previous year. The Dolphins posted an undefeated 14–0 regular season record before defeating the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Redskins were making what would be the first of five Super Bowl appearances in a 20-year period, after posting an 11–3 regular season record and playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Despite being undefeated, the Dolphins were actually one-point underdogs, largely based on the weakness of their regular season schedule.
Super Bowl VII was largely dominated by the Dolphins, and is the second-lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date with a total of only 21 points, behind only the 13–3 score of Super Bowl LIII. The only real drama occurred during the final minutes of the game, in what was later known as "Garo's Gaffe". Miami attempted to cap their 17–0 perfect season with a 17–0 shutout by means of a 42-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, but instead the game and the season was jeopardized when his kick was blocked. Instead of falling on the loose ball, the Dolphins kicker picked it up, attempted a forward pass, but batted it in the air, and Redskins cornerback Mike Bass caught it and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. This remains the longest period in a Super Bowl for one team to be shut out, as Washington was held scoreless until 2:07 remained in the fourth quarter. Because of the turnover and score, what was a Miami-dominated game became close, and the Dolphins had to stop Washington's final drive for the tying touchdown as time expired.
Dolphins safety Jake Scott was named Most Valuable Player. He recorded two interceptions for 63 return yards, including a 55-yard return from the end zone during the fourth quarter. Scott became the second defensive player in Super Bowl history to earn a Super Bowl MVP award.
Background
Host selection process
The NFL awarded Super Bowl VII to Los Angeles on March 21, 1972, at the owners' meetings held in Honolulu. For the first time, multiple Super Bowl sites were selected at a single meeting, as hosts for both VII and VIII were named. Five cities, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Dallas, and New Orleans, prepared serious bids, while San Francisco withdrew from the running a week prior to the vote. After nine deadlocked votes, Oilers owner Bud Adams recommended awarding two consecutive sites. This compromise mirrored an idea brought up in 1971 by representatives from Miami. Los Angeles won on the ninth ballot, while second place Houston was named the host for VIII. In order to accommodate the game, the Pro Bowl was shifted from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Texas Stadium for 1973.Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins went undefeated during the season, despite losing their starting quarterback. In the fifth game of the regular season, starter Bob Griese suffered a fractured right leg and dislocated ankle. In his place, 38-year-old Earl Morrall, a 17-year veteran, led Miami to victory in their nine remaining regular season games, and was the 1972 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Morrall had previously played for Dolphins head coach Don Shula when they were both with the Baltimore Colts, where Morrall backed up quarterback Johnny Unitas and started in Super Bowl III.But Miami also had the same core group of young players who had helped the team advance to the previous year's Super Bowl VI. The Dolphins still had a powerful running attack, spearheaded by running backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Eugene "Mercury" Morris. Csonka, who had the best season of his career, led the team with 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. Kiick contributed 521 yards and five touchdowns, and also caught 21 passes for 147 yards and another touchdown. Morris, a breakaway runner, rushed for exactly 1,000 yards, caught 15 passes for 168 yards, added another 334 yards returning kickoffs, and scored a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns. Overall, Miami set a record with 2,960 total rushing yards during the regular season, and became the first team ever to have two players rush for 1,000 yards in one season. Miami led the NFL in points scored. Since 1972, only six other teams have had two 1,000 yard rushers in the same backfield, but the Dolphins are the only one of those seven to make it to and win the Super Bowl.
Receiver Paul Warfield once again provided the run-based Dolphins with an effective deep-threat option, catching 29 passes for 606 yards, an average of 20.9 yards per catch. Miami's offensive line, led by undrafted future Hall of Famers Jim Langer and Larry Little, was also a key factor in the Dolphins' offensive production. Miami's "No-Name Defense", led by future Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti, allowed the fewest points in the league during the regular season, and ranked second in the NFL with 26 interceptions. Safety Jake Scott recorded five interceptions, while Lloyd Mumphord had four picks and safety Dick Anderson had three interceptions and led the NFL with five fumble recoveries. Because of injuries to defensive linemen, defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger created what he called the "53" defense, in which the versatile Bob Matheson would be used as either a defensive end in the standard 4–3 defense or as a fourth linebacker in a 3–4 defense, with Manny Fernandez at nose tackle. As a linebacker, Matheson would either rush or drop back into coverage. Said Nick Buoniconti, "Teams would be totally confused." Linebacker Doug Swift was also a playmaker with three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
The Dolphins' undefeated, untied regular season was the third in NFL history, and the first of the post-merger era. The previous two teams to do so, the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears, both lost the NFL Championship game. Later, the 2007 New England Patriots became the 4th team to complete an undefeated and untied regular season, but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Cleveland Browns also completed a perfect season in 1948, including a league championship, while part of the All-America Football Conference, but until April 1, 2025 this feat was recognized only by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, since the NFL did not officially recognize any AAFC records.
Washington Redskins
Following the death of Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi 17 days prior to the start of the 1970 season, Washington finished 6–8 under interim coach Bill Austin. Shortly after the conclusion of the 1970 season, the Redskins hired George Allen as their head coach, hoping he could turn the team's fortunes around. Allen's philosophy was that veteran players win games, so immediately after taking over the team, he traded away most of the younger team members and draft choices for older, more established players. His motto was "The future is now." Washington quickly became the oldest team in the NFL and earned the nickname "The Over-the-Hill Gang." The average age of starters was 31 years old. However, Allen's strategy turned the Redskins around, as the team improved to a 9–4–1 record in 1971, and finished the 1972 season with an NFC-best 11–3 record.Washington was led by 33-year-old quarterback Billy Kilmer, who completed 120 out of 225 passes for 1,648 yards and a league-leading 19 touchdowns during the regular season, with only 11 interceptions, giving him an NFL-best 84.8 passer rating. Kilmer had started the first three games of the season, was replaced in Game 4 by 38-year-old Sonny Jurgensen, then replaced Jurgensen when he was lost for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. The Redskins' powerful rushing attack featured two backs. Larry Brown gained 1,216 yards on 285 carries during the regular season, caught 32 passes for 473 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, earning him both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Charley Harraway ran for 567 yards on 148 carries. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Charley Taylor and wide receiver Roy Jefferson provided the team with a solid deep threat, combining for 84 receptions, 1,223 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Veteran tight end Jerry Smith added 21 receptions for 353 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Washington also had a solid defense led by linebacker Chris Hanburger and cornerbacks Pat Fischer and Mike Bass
Playoffs
Morrall led the Dolphins to a 20–14 playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. However, Griese started the second half of the AFC Championship Game to help rally the Dolphins to a 21–17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. A fake punt by Miami's Larry Seiple made the difference.Meanwhile, the Redskins advanced to the Super Bowl without having allowed a touchdown in either their 16–3 playoff win over the Green Bay Packers or their crushing 26–3 NFC Championship Game victory over the Cowboys, the defending Super Bowl champions.
Super Bowl pregame news and notes
Much of the pregame hype surrounded the chances of the Dolphins completing a perfect, undefeated season, as well as their quarterback controversy between Griese and Morrall. Griese was eventually picked to start the Super Bowl because Shula felt more comfortable with Morrall as the backup just in case Griese was ineffective following his recent inactivity. Miami was also strongly motivated to win the Super Bowl after having been humiliated by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. Wrote Nick Buoniconti, "There was no way we were going to lose the Super Bowl; there was no way." Head coach Don Shula, loser of Super Bowls III and VI, was also determined to win. Although Shula was relaxed and charming when dealing with the press, it was all an act; Dolphins players described him as "neurotic" and "absolutely crazy." He was also sick during Super Bowl week with the flu, which he kept secret.Still, many favored the Redskins to win the game because of their group of "Over the Hill Gang" veterans, and because Miami had what some considered an easy schedule. This is reflected in the regular season standings where Miami ended the regular season 7 games in front of the New York Jets in the AFC East while Washington barely won the NFC East winning the division over the Dallas Cowboys by one game. and had struggled in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Miami trailed in the second half of both contests needing a 4th quarter comeback against the Browns in the Divisional round and a quarterback change in the AFC Championship against the Steelers. Washington easily beat their playoff opponents holding both to a field goal.
Allen had a reputation for spying on opponents. A school overlooked the Rams facility that the NFL designated as the Dolphins practice field, so the Dolphins found a more secure field at a local community college. Dolphins employees inspected the trees every day for spies.
Miami cornerback Tim Foley, a future broadcaster who was injured and would not play in Super Bowl VII, was writing daily stories for a Miami newspaper and interviewed George Allen and his players, provoking charges from Allen that Foley was actually spying for Shula.
Allen was extremely uptight and prickly dealing with the press Super Bowl week, and accused the press of ruining his team's preparation. Allen pushed the team so hard in practices that the players joked among themselves that they should have left Allen in Washington.
During practice the day before Super Bowl VII, the Dolphins' 5'7" 150-pound kicker, Garo Yepremian, relaxed by throwing 30-yard passes to Dave Shula, Don Shula's son. During the pregame warmups, he consistently kicked low line drives and couldn't figure out why.
This was the first Super Bowl in which neither coach wore a tie. Shula wore a coat and tie for Super Bowl VI, but wore a white short-sleeved polo shirt for this game, as did Allen. For Super Bowl VIII, Shula would wear a sport coat, but with a shirt underneath that was similar to the one he wore in Super Bowl VII. This was the warmest Super Bowl on record with a kickoff temperature of.
The American flag in the east end of the Coliseum flew at half-mast in memory of former President Harry S. Truman, who died December 26, 1972. Richard Nixon declared the traditional 30-day mourning period following the death of a president later that day.